City, ACHD battle over downtown parking

BOISE -- The City of Boise is asking the Ada County Highway District for permission to install hundreds of new parking sensors along downtown streets.

The sensors would allow drivers to look for parking spots and pay for parking time by using a mobile phone app - which is launching soon.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, city leaders announced that they've submitted a permit application for 611 sensors.

They also asked ACHD to act on a permit application for 200 parking sensors that the city submitted more than a year ago. The city had already installed 68 sensors before ACHD said the city needed a permit.

"It is unfortunate that ACHD's burdensome system of roadway administration, a model that exists only in Ada County in the entire United States, has again created an unnecessary conflict," said council member Maryanne Jordan.

Several hours before the response deadline, ACHD put up "No Parking" signs on all of the 68 spaces where the sensors have been installed.

ACHD spokesman Craig Quintana says the ACHD commission received the city's letter after Thursday's news conference started, and he says the ACHD commission now plans to meet Monday at noon behind closed doors, with an attorney.

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